For generations, nomadic pastoralists have relied on deep ecological knowledge to find good pasture and fresh water for their herds. But as areas such as the Afar region of Ethiopia come under new pressure — from population growth, land battles and prolonged drought — new approaches to livelihood planning are needed. Thousands of traditional pastoralists in Afar have seen livestock mortality cut in half since they began using digital maps overlaid with vegetation data to find grazing areas for their cattle.
Increasingly, NGOs such as Project Concern International, the California-based international development organization behind this Satellite Assisted Pastoral Resource Management effort, are relying on satellite imagery for the actionable information they need. But while this overhead view is a valued resource for so many global development professionals, there are plenty of cautionary tales. Devex spoke with a range of experts to learn how you can leverage the power of satellites, while avoiding costly mistakes along the way.
Google Earth’s freely available archived images will be more than sufficient for most NGOs’ purposes. Some organizations waste time and money by failing to understand that just because satellite data is expensive doesn’t mean it will be useful for them.